Tag: Staff Directory WordPress Plugin

Something often said in business and marketing circles, is that people will buy from people they know, like and trust.

If you are searching for simple ways to sell more products or services online or increase user interaction on your site, then make it easier for your visitors to get to know, like and trust you, your team and your organization better.

Adding a faculty member directory to your site can help to generate increased trust, increase your credibility online and get more prospects contacting you.

In this tutorial, we show you how to add an easy-to-update simple faculty directory in your website with no coding skills required.

Adding A Staff List Directory To WordPress

In this tutorial, you will learn how to install, activate and configure a no cost plugin called Simple Staff List.

Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin

(Simple Staff List)

The Simple Staff List plugin is free and lets you easily build a basic staff directory for.

First, let’s install and activate this plugin.

Log into the WordPress dashboard and go to Plugins > Add New …

(WordPress Plugins Menu – Add New)

In the Plugins area, search for “simple staff plugin”. This brings up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.

Click on Install Now …

(Plugins  – plugin search results)

Click on Activate Plugin …

(Activate plugin)

After installing and activating the plugin, a new entry will be added to your WordPress menu section called Staff Members …

(Staff Members)

All of the options and settings for your plugin are configured and managed in this menu.

Configuring The Simple Staff List Plugin

Depending on the size of your team and how you want to structure your staff directory, you can begin to add new staff members after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) that you will assign to your group members.

Staff Members – Groups

Let’s configure your directory groups. In your dashboard menu, select Staff Members > Groups …

(Staff Members – Groups)

This opens up the Groups settings …

(Groups screen)

Note: Setting up groups works in the same way as adding categories …

(Groups work just like WordPress categories)

Add a new group by entering the following information:

1. Group Name – Type in your group name
2. Slug – Type in the slug of your group name. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
3. Parent – Use this section if you plan to set up nested groups
4. Description – Type in a category description in this field
5. Click the Add New Group button when finished to create the new category …

(Groups settings area)

If you are a business that employs many people, the ability to assign people to different categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a group for founders, developers, departments, etc.

Create as many groups and nested categories as you want by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to assign these to a hierarchical structure …

(Nested groups)

Remember to click on the Add New Group button after creating new items …

To change Groups for a particular item, hover your mouse over a category title and click on the Edit link …

The selected group details will open in the Edit Group screen. Select a new category from the Parent drop-down menu …

(Edit Group screen)

Click Update when done …

To change your Group name or slug, hover over the group name and click on the Quick Edit menu feature …

Click on Update Group  when done to save your changes …

Add as many categories as you need to until you have created your directory structure …

You can add as many nested categories as you like …

(Add nested categories your staff directory)

Once you have finished setting up your groups, the next step is to begin to add your people to your directory.

Staff Members – Add New

In your WP admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …

(Staff Members – Add New)

The Add New Staff Member settings area …

(Add New Staff Member settings)

This screen provides an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member information and includes the following fields:

Name Section (1)

• Name: Enter your employee’s name
• Permalink: Modify your employees’ slug (this section appears after your first save).

Staff Photo Section (2)

• Photo: Upload a photo of your staff member

Staff Member Info Section (3)

• Position: Type in the person’s role
• Email: Type in the person’s email address into this field
• Phone Number: Your staff member’s phone number
• Facebook URL: Type the employee’s Facebook address (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
• Twitter URL: Enter the person’s Twitter username into this field (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)

Staff Member Bio Section (4)

• Staff Member Bio: Type a profile description for your employee here. This uses the WordPress Text Editor, so you can add formatted content into this section.

Groups Section (5)

• Groups: Assign a staff or faculty member to a specific group (see the previous section to learn how to set up groups).

If you click on the Screen Options tab at the top of your screen …

(Screen options tab)

You can enable additional page settings …

(Enable additional fields in screen options tab)

Now that you know what each section does, enter your employee’s details …

(Add Staff Member settings)

After you have entered each of you staff member’s details, assign your new entry to a directory group in the Groups section in your sidebar …

(Groups box)

Note: If you have not set up categories before adding new staff members, you can create a group now by selecting Groups > + Add New Group …

(Add a new group inside your Groups box)

A field will display allowing you to create a new group name, with a dropdown menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new group and click on Add New Group …

Your new category will be created. Remember to tick the checkbox to assign your listing to the group …

(New group)

Note: You cannot edit groups when adding or editing a staff member’s details. To edit an item, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section of the tutorial above for details).

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After entering the person’s details, click the Publish button to add them to your directory …

Click View Post …

You can make changes to the staff member’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in your WordPress admin toolbar …

(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)

We have written a detailed tutorial on using the WordPress admin toolbar here:

• Your WP Admin Screen Explained

Note: If you see an error like the one shown below, check that you have set up your permalinks correctly …

(Page error – Check your permalinks)

We have written a detailed tutorial about using permalinks in WordPress here:

• How To Improve Your WordPress SEO With Permalinks

Continue adding new members to your directory directory until done.

Staff Members – All Staff Members

After entering staff members to your directory, you can view and edit details by clicking Staff Members > All Staff Members in your menu …

(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)

This brings up a table displaying all your listing entries and their details …

(Staff Members list)

If you need to edit an individual’s entry, hover over their list name, and a menu will appear.

Click on Edit to modify the Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to update details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also remove someone from your staff directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by clicking View …

(Editing Staff Members profile)

Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can grow quite large.

You can use the Search Staff Members search box to locate listing items …

(Search members)

You can specify which fields to display in this screen. To show or hide fields on your screen, click the Screen Options tab at the top of your page …

(Screen Options tab)

Selecting a check box displays the field and unchecking a box hides the field. You can also choose how many staff members are shown per page. Click Apply when done to update your preferences …

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set the order in which listings display on your directory pages.

Click Staff Members > Order in the menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

To rearrange the order of your entries, click and drag the entry to the desired location …

(Reorder items using drag and drop)

Your staff list will automatically be reorganized …

(Reordered list items)

Once you are done adding all of your employees’ details to your directory, the next step is to make the directory display on your site.

Staff Members – Order

Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order that your employees appear on your directory pages.

Click Staff Members > Order on the menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Order)

To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the entry to its new location …

(Reorder employee listings using drag and drop)

Your directory will be automatically reordered …

(Reordered listings)

Once you have added member listing details to the directory, the next step is to make your directory show to your site users.

Simple Staff List – Additional Notes

The plugin lets you create the style and layout of your employee directory listings using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).

Templates Menu

To customize the layout and style of your staff list, select Staff Members > Templates from the dashboard menu …

(Staff Members – Templates)

This opens the Templates screen …

(Customize your directory template)

To customize your directory listings, reorganize any of the permitted template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.

For example, here is the Default Template …

(Default Simple Staff List Template)

The above code displays the listing shown below …

(Default Template Listing)

Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above listing. To make these fields appear in your directory, you will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template, as shown in the example below …

(Template tags can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your listings page)

Your directory profiles will now display as as the screenshot below shows …

(Employee profiles with social media links added)

Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess with CSS styles and template tags or are unsure of how to edit the template as shown above, please contact us for assistance.

Usage Menu

In addition to allowing you to customize your listing templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your listings differently using modified shortcodes.

In your menu, click on Staff Members >Usage …

(Staff Members – Usage)

This opens the Usage page …

(Usage shortcodes)

This screen lists all the shortcode variations that the plugin lets you use.

For example, a useful shortcode variation you can choose to display only members belonging a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”sales reps”])

Or, you can display listings in ascending or descending order by using the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”ASC”] (ascending).

Options Menu

Select Staff Members >Options on the menu …

(Staff Members Menu – Options)

This brings up the Options screen …

(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)

Here you can edit labels like Staff Members URL Slug and Staff Member titles

Finally, you can also export your staff members info from the Tools > Export section …

(Export Staff Members plugin information)

If you need additional information about the Simple Staff List plugin, visit the plugin plugin website and contact the plugin developer.

Additional WordPress Plugins For Creating Simple Staff Directories

Simple Staff List is not the only adding a listing of your employees in WordPress. Here are some other free WordPress plugins you can check out to create a staff directory on your site:

Modern Team Staff Directory

(Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Plugin)

This plugin helps you collect your team information and showcase it anywhere on your site in beautiful grids, columns and tables. This premium plugin features over a dozen presets and provides editors that make it easy to edit and update your directory.

(Modern Team Staff Directory – Responsive Templates)

To learn more about this plugin go here:

• Modern Team Staff Directory – WP Plugin

Staff Directory

(Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

The Staff Directory plugin lets you easily display a list of team/staff/faculty members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, teams, etc.

You can also insert custom fields …

(Custom Details Fields. Screenshot source: Staff Directory website)

More info:

• Staff Directory – WP Staff Directory Plugin

Faculty And Staff Directory

(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)

This plugin was developed to provide a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college, school or university.

The plugin also installs a widget that allows you to feature profiles in a widget area.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Faculty And Staff Directory – WordPress Plugin

Company Directory

(Company Directory)

With the Company Directory plugin, you can add your staff to your site. Different layouts are available, including grid and table views, plus as fields like title, email, phone number, image and bio, allowing you to present your company and capabilities.

Visitors can click through from your list, grid, and table views to learn more about each staff member in a customizable single view …

(Display your staff and faculty members in an easy-to-view format. Screenshot source: Company Directory plugin website)

This plugin also uses a simple shortcode system.

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Company Directory – WP Plugin

Employee Spotlight

(Employee Spotlight)

Employee Spotlight displays team members, partners or just a single person in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant upon plugin activation.

The Employee Spotlight plugincomes with two sidebar widgets which display featured and recent employees, plus two responsive views which adjust to the viewer’s screen.

Detailed information about  each team member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …

(Responsive layout with employee circle grid. Screenshot source: Employee Spotlight website)

For more details, visit the plugin site here:

• Employee Spotlight

Staffer

(Staffer – WordPress Staff Directory Plugin)

The Staffer plugin uses custom post types for staff management and supports the display of staff members via a shortcode, allowing you to easily create and manage an onsite staff directory …

(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: plugin website)

Staffer works with almost all WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.

Go here to learn more:

• Staffer – Plugin For WordPress

If the above plugins aren’t what you’re looking for, search the WordPress plugin directory or go online and search for:

• Add Staff Directory To WordPress
• WordPress Staff Directory Plugin
• WordPress Plugin Staff Directory
• Employee Directory WordPress
• etc.

Congratulations! Now you know how to add a simple directory of staff members to your WordPress site, so your web visitors can get to know you and the people in your team better.

Images of persons used to portray fictitious staff members in this tutorial were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com

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